Freeform Raises $67M Series B
Freeform, a startup in laser AI manufacturing, has raised $67 million in Series B funding to scale its novel 3D printing system for metal components. The funding reflects ongoing investor appetite for breakthroughs in hardware and advanced manufacturing despite a more selective funding climate.
- The company was founded in 2018 by former SpaceX engineers Erik Palitsch and Thomas Ronacher, who aimed to overcome the cost, speed, and quality limitations they experienced with existing metal 3D printers while developing rocket engines. - Key investors in the Series B round include Founders Fund, Threshold Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, and the venture arms of NVIDIA (NVentures) and Boeing (AE Ventures). - Freeform's manufacturing process is described as "AI-native," utilizing on-site data centers with NVIDIA H200 GPU clusters to run physics simulations that control the printing process in real-time. - The new funding is earmarked for upgrading their current "GoldenEye" printing system, which uses 18 lasers, to a next-generation "Skyfall" platform that will employ hundreds of lasers. - With the upgraded "Skyfall" system, Freeform aims to achieve a production capacity of thousands of kilograms of metal components per day, moving from prototyping to mass manufacturing. - Unlike companies that sell printing machines, Freeform operates on a manufacturing-as-a-service model, producing parts for clients directly to lower the barrier to entry for customers. - The company is already supplying hundreds of mission-critical parts and plans to hire up to 100 new employees to expand its facility and address a backlog of contracts. - Freeform competes in a growing market for advanced metal manufacturing, with other venture-backed companies like Hadrian, VulcanForms, and Divergent also raising significant capital.
